Dental appliance for sleep apnea????

[mrpat]

Has anyone had any experience with  custom dental appliances that supposedly work to eliminate sleep apnea by thrusting the lower jaw a bit forward?     I ask about these because I have used C-Pap for at least 12 years but now besides my apnea and snoring problems I've arrived at stage 4 COPD and need oxygen.   The issue is that when traveling I now have been hauling a portable oxygen concentrator and my C-Pap. Airplane travel has gotten much harder cause I can't just grab a carry on and a few clothes anymore.  It's been suggested I look into dental appliances because they would take up much less space and might mean for short weekend trips I could do without the C-Pap.     Thoughts anyone???   Do they work???

[G. Szabo]

If you search for it, you will find many comments on this forum. I believe the conclusion is that they are not too practical, inferior to CPAP, require a long training time (months), and are expensive.

[Jimasripper]

I know most people may have negative view of them, but personally I tried dental mouth guard last year. It didn't last for long, it was only 6 months that it was effective but during these months, IT TRULY did its work for me. After starting using it, I lost 6 pounds in just 3 weeks without even trying with diet, I felt so much more restful, my face redness went away, my hair got more thick and I was feeling renewed. I still use it from time to time but it's not as effective as it first was(that's the only negative with mouth guards for me). Instead I try CPAP now and I am having a real hard time adjusting to it after 1 week effectively using it, yet still not seeing the benefits that I've had with dental appliance last year, though there might be many personal factors contributing to that in my case(such as pressure, leakages etc).

[CPAPfriend]

They do "work" in the sense that there is sufficient data showing they reduce events / obstruction. I use one together with my CPAP, which makes for better therapy than with CPAP alone.

They're limited and for most patients will not resolve your obstruction to the point of satisfaction, but everyone is different. Another consideration is that they can move around your teeth and compromise the muscles of the jaw if too much strain in pulling the mandible forward is caused.

[mrpat]

Thanks everybody I think I'll keep looking into it as a possible tool to use in those limited number of times I travel via airplane for a short duration trip.  Cause I love the way my c-pap works for regular daily use.  I got a dentist appt in a week or so and will see what she knows about it.